Renting Textbooks Makes Life Easier

Recalling my cash-strapped college days, I have some very clear and bitter memories involving textbooks. The worst scenarios, in my opinion:

• At least one of your classes, maybe organic chemistry, decides to upgrade to the newest edition of the textbook. Consequently, there is no way to buy a used copy = $$$$.
• You stand in line at the bookstore for hours only to get $12 for a book you paid $70 for. Or to find out that next year they will be using a new edition. Argh!

These memories are why I am impressed with CampusBookRentals.com.
Some of the aspects that appeal to me:

• You can save 40-90% off bookstore prices.
• They have flexible rental periods and a 30 guarantee to get your money back if you drop the class.
• You can highlight in the books!
• No membership fee.
• Free shipping both ways.
• No need to box up the books--they provide pre-paid envelopes.
• The option to buy the books if you want to keep them. This seems like a good idea for homeschooling families who want to try out a curriculum. Just for kicks I looked for my highschool math, Saxon, and they have it! 

On top of all that, CampusBookRentals gives a portion of their proceeds to Operation Smile, an organization that provides life-changing operations to repair cleft palates in children whose families cannot afford it. What a great way to give back! 


This is a service that definitely could have made life easier for me and I would recommend that those looking for textbooks should check it out. 


This a sponsored post for which I received some form of compensation. All opinions are my own and I only recommend that which I would personally use or think would be beneficial to my readers.

Nordic Naturals Review

Do you eat 7 ounces of fish a week? I rarely do. That’s the amount recommended by the American Heart Association in order to receive enough essential Omega 3 fatty acid. I have seen many advertisements for Nordic Naturals fish oil and omega-3 supplements in several organic and green living magazines. The ads always appealed to me because they declared that their fish oil had no fishy taste. Tasting fish for hours after taking the generic brand is unpleasant and discourages me from taking them regularly. I recently learned more about Nordic Naturals.

Nordic Naturals was founded by Joar Opheim, a Norwegian who came to California in the 1980’s to finish his MBA. He couldn’t find the high quality fish oil that he used at home so he would bring suitcases full of Norwegian fish oil with him. “Driven by his Norwegian heritage, knowledge of fish oil, and love of science, Joar was inspired to contribute to advancing fish oil quality and industry standards.” Some of what they have achieved in their products:

• Exceptional Freshness
  Protection from fishy smell, taste, and harmful free radicals
  Freshness, which ensures product integrity and biological efficacy, may be the single most important quality of fish oils. Nordic Naturals' patented, oxygen-free manufacturing process maintains the freshness of fish oil used in our products, with peroxide values (indicators of freshness) well below the European Pharmacopoeia Standard limits. The lower the peroxide value, the fresher the fish oil. 
• Award-winning Purity Levels Protection from harmful environmental toxins Every batch of oil used in Nordic Naturals' products is third-party tested for environmental toxins including heavy metals, dioxins, and PCBs, ensuring that every product exceeds international pharmaceutical standards and is at least 750 times purer than fish. Nordic Naturals was ranked #1 out of the top 10 fish oil brands in Norway for freshness, purity, and highest concentration. 
• Great Taste
  Unsurpassed freshness equals great-tasting fish oil
  The key objections to taking fish oils are taste and aftertaste. Nordic Naturals utilizes proprietary enzymatic and oxygen-free processing technologies to ensure a completely burp free product. Our patented encapsulation process also adds natural fruit essences into both the soft gel and liquid oil for a light, fruity taste.  Excerpted from Why Nordic Naturals

I was really impressed with the taste of the Algae Omega—a light, clean lemon flavor. Not a single fishy burp! It is also about to be certified as vegan.

Another exceptional quality of Nordic Naturals is their commitment to environmental and social responsibility. They strictly use sustainable fishing practices and they give back to communities all over the world, including in Norway and the U.S. It feels good to support such a company.

You can find Nordic Naturals in stores or at their website. I was psyched to learn that my local natural foods store, Green Hut LLC, will be carrying Nordic Naturals products!

I received a free product in exchange for a review of Nordic Naturals. All opinions are my own.

Review and Giveaway: TheraNeem Nail and Cuticle Pen

I recently had the opportunity to try the TheraNeem Nail and Cuticle Pen from Organix South. Until recently, I knew very little about Neem oil but I really like what I'm learning about it, as well as the Organix South company.
About Neem
The Indian Neem tree (Azadirachta indica) is native to India and Burma and is able to grow in a wide range of conditions except cold weather and saturated soils. As well as providing shade and sequestering green-house gases, the Neem tree has been used for medicine, cosmetics, rope, tea, glue, wood, fertilizer, pesticides, insecticides, lubricant, and oil for lighting and heating. For cosmetic purposes, Neem oil is beneficial because it is packed with antioxidants and nourishing fatty acids. It is similar to tea tree oil, but doesn't contain the skin-irritating turpinols of tea tree oil. I have heard of the use of Neem oil in agriculture as a natural and safe pesticide. Extracts of Neem are effective against at least 200 different insect species, including mosquitoes, while not harming beneficials like bees and ladybugs. It is also effective against certain human fungi, which is why it is used in a nail treatment.
About Organix South
Organix South is the world's leading manufacturer of certified-organic Neem products. I really like that all their ingredients are labeled, most of them are organic, and they pay fair-trade prices to the growers. Their mission statement is: to offer a synergy of organic, therapeutic and cruelty free herbal products that are great for the whole family, your pets and the planet too!
My Experience
Being a gardener and a nail biter really does a number on my cuticles. They are always ragged and I often get hangnails (for which I take full responsibility--darn nail-biting!). Add to that the frequent hand-washing after diaper changes, and my fingertips are often dry and sore. Thankfully, our family doesn't suffer from fungal infections, so I have been using the Theraneem Nail and Cuticle Oil for its soothing and protective benefits. The following are my observations:

• The brush applicator is very convenient and easy to use. I like the feel of the brush on my skin.
• I really  like the ingredients! Check out all the healthy oils:
• Ingredients: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil*,Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Seed Oil*, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Supercritical CO2 Extract of Azadirachta Indica (Neem) Leaf*, Supercritical CO2 Extract of Hippophaë Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Seed Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium) Oil. *Certified Organic Ingredients. --FYI "Supercritical" means a highly concentrated extract, such as 50:1, meaning 50lbs of leaves makes 1lb of extract. 

• It smells a little strong at first, but not like the garlic smell of Neem. I can definitely pick out the rose geranium oil. Personally, I like the smell and kept inhaling my fingertips to get a fresh whiff. The scent tapers off pretty quickly.
• The oil soaked in quickly and left no taste! It may be silly, but that was significant to me. I have used tea tree oil on my hang-nails to sooth and heal, but it leaves a bitter taste behind. While that might deter nail biting, its an unpleasant surprise when eating. (That's my beef with hand-sanitizers, too.)

I am enjoying using this product and would happily recommend it.

Buy It: You can buy Theraneem nail and cuticle pen from the Organix South website.
Win It! Organix South is giving you the opportunity to win a Nail and Cuticle Pen here at Garden Me. Just enter the Rafflecopter below. contest is open to US residents age 18 and over.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


I was under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own
“These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any diseases” 

Tropical Traditions Organic Virgin Coconut Oil Review

I really like using virgin coconut oil! The Internet has a lot of summaries of research done on the health benefits of coconut oil. Or if you enjoy perusing research articles like I do, you can search Pubmed! (I spent more time reading research papers than writing this post, and I'm a slow writer.)

Virgin Coconut Oil is wonderfully moisturizing to the skin and can be used as an ingredient in homemade beauty and hygiene products (moisturizers, conditioner, deodorant, diaper cream, etc). My absolute favorite use is to moisturize and calm the sting after shaving my legs!

I recently had the opportunity to review Tropical Traditions Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil. I have tried several coconut oils and this one is my favorite by far! It has a light, clean coconut scent and is so much richer and more delicious than refined coconut oil. I really like that it is processed by a simple, traditional method right on the farms. Its not the cheapest, but I really would recommend this product for its high quality and organic good-for-the-Earth production!

To elaborate, here are some of my experiences with the Gold Label coconut oil.
Baked goods: I replaced the oil that was called for in banana muffins and brownies with coconut oil. I had to melt it (in the measuring cup, not the whole bottle) to measure it and then when it combined with the cold ingredients, like eggs, it solidified again. I just made sure I mixed quickly and thoroughly so that there were no big chunks and it was evenly distributed. Everything came out just fine, so I would definitely do it again. I didn't really notice any coconut flavor in the muffins, but the brownies were an amazing coconut-scented chocolate!

Stir-Frying: I stir-fried chicken strips in the oil which filled the house with its smell--not bad at all. I didn't taste coconut in the dish, but  it was seasoned with curry powder, which is strong in itself.

Assorted Goodies: There are oodles and oodles of ways to make delicious goodies with coconut oil and Tropical Traditions is a really great resource for recipes. I will blog about my Cocoa Cherry Energy Bites and Tropical Sugar Scrub soon! Right now I'm having fun tweaking an experimental recipe for satisfying my dark chocolate cravings.

Sneak peek at the Cocoa Cherry Bites!

Buy It: You can buy your own coconut oil and many other healthy and delicious products at Tropical Traditions. If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you :-)

Win It! Come back May 1st for the Green Your Mom blog hop for your chance to win a quart jar of Gold Label Organic Virgin Coconut Oil! I know a bunch of green moms who would be thrilled to get this versatile oil for Mother's Day :-)

Virgin Coconut Oil, Gold Label - 1 quart

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.